What do Jehovah's Witnesses believe?

Question

I've always heard things about their religion but nothing detailed. What are their beliefs about God, Heaven, Hell, salvation....pretty much looking for a summary of the high points I guess.

Answer 1

Jehovah’s Witnesses—What Do They Believe?

Jehovah’s Witnesses today form an international organization that is completely separate from all other religious organizations. Since we are often misrepresented, it would be a mistake to expect to learn the truth about us from prejudiced sources. So we are pleased to explain to you some of our principal beliefs.

God, the Bible, and the Messiah

God has a personal name, and Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that those who worship him should use that name. Almighty God declared to Moses that His name is “Jehovah.” (Exodus 3:15; Psalm 83:18) Moses, Abraham, and many other faithful men of old used this name of God. (Genesis 12:8; Ruth 2:4, 12) In fact, the name Jehovah occurs thousands of times in the Sacred Scriptures. Therefore, like those faithful men of ancient times, we use God’s name and serve in behalf of that name.—Isaiah 43:10.

Jehovah’s Witnesses firmly believe that the Sacred Scriptures, known also as the Bible, are inspired by Jehovah God and that they constitute his chief means of communication with mankind today. King David expressed it this way: “The spirit of Jehovah it was that spoke by me, and his word was upon my tongue.” (2 Samuel 23:2) We follow the Scriptures closely, allowing these to interpret themselves.

Jehovah’s Witnesses accept the so-called New Testament as the natural and inspired continuation of the Tanakh, or the Hebrew Scriptures. The “New Testament,” the section of the Sacred Scriptures originally composed in Greek, was written by Jews who lived in the first century C.E. These men were eyewitnesses of the fulfillment of Messianic prophecies recorded by such Hebrew prophets as Moses, Isaiah, and Daniel. They found in the unique teacher of their day, Jesus, the fulfillment of such prophecies as those at Genesis 49:10; Isaiah 52:13–53:12; and Daniel 9:24-27.

Therefore, Jehovah’s Witnesses accept Jesus as the Messiah, the one God provided as a legal means of rescuing mankind from the consequences of Adam’s sin. The Mosaic Law covenant showed the need for a sacrifice in order to make atonement. (Leviticus 16:6, 11, 15, 30; Numbers 15:22-29) However, the Mosaic covenant was conditional and temporary. (Exodus 19:5, 6) The prophet Jeremiah spoke of “a new covenant” that would bring complete and lasting forgiveness of sin. (Jeremiah 31:31-34) This “new covenant,” based on a perfect sacrifice, would provide the means for bringing faithful people into the promised earthly Paradise.—Isaiah 53:4-6, 10-12; 65:21-25.

Jehovah’s Witnesses are no part of Christendom. In fact, Christendom was founded nearly 300 years after Jesus’ death, and its beliefs have greatly deviated from what Jesus taught. For example, we do not accept Christendom’s belief in the Trinity, which teaches that Jesus is God himself. Nowhere do the Scriptures contain this blasphemous teaching. (Deuteronomy 6:4; Mark 12:29; John 14:28) We do not use the cross as a symbol, nor do we employ statues in any way as part of our worship. These are all things that the Bible condemns.—Exodus 20:3-5; 1 John 5:21.

The Kingdom of God

Clearly, the Kingdom of God is a dominant theme that runs throughout the Sacred Scriptures. The prophet Daniel speaks of the Messiah and says: “To him there were given rulership and dignity and kingdom, that the peoples, national groups and languages should all serve even him. His rulership is an indefinitely lasting rulership that will not pass away, and his kingdom one that will not be brought to ruin.” (Daniel 7:13, 14) Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that God’s Kingdom by his Messiah is a real government and that the rule of this government will restore true peace to the earth.—Isaiah 9:6, 7; Psalm 46:8, 9; 72:7.

The Scriptures show that the seat of this government is in the heavens and that the Messiah, resurrected from death to God’s right hand, is its Ruler. (Psalm 110:1, 2) Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that eventually billions will receive everlasting life on earth as subjects of the Messianic rule. Thus, we are firmly convinced that the earth will never be destroyed and that the Bible promise will be fulfilled: “The righteous themselves will possess the earth, and they will reside forever upon it.”—Psalm 37:29.

But how will God’s Kingdom come? The Bible realistically shows that the coming of the Kingdom will require God’s direct intervention in earth’s affairs: “The God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be brought to ruin. And the kingdom itself . . . will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, and it itself will stand to times indefinite.”—Daniel 2:44.

When will God’s Kingdom come? On the basis of Bible prophecies now being fulfilled, Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that it will come in our day. The Greek Scriptures contain prophecies that foretell in detail features of “the last days” of this system of things. We invite you to consider some of these prophecies recorded at Matthew 24:3-14; Luke 21:7-13, 25-32; and 2 Timothy 3:1-5.

Because we love Jehovah our God with our whole heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love our neighbors as ourselves, we are not divided nationally, racially, or socially. (Leviticus 19:18; Deuteronomy 6:4, 5; Mark 12:30, 31) We are widely noted for the love and unity that is manifested among our spiritual brothers, who are found in all nations. This is in harmony with the prophecies concerning “the final part of the days” that speak of people of all nations worshiping God in unity and ‘not learning war anymore.’ (Isaiah 2:2-4; Zephaniah 3:9; John 13:35) Thus, we maintain a neutral stand toward the political affairs of all nations. We believe that worshiping God properly means avoiding immoral conduct, including lying, stealing, fornication, adultery, homosexuality, the misuse of blood, idolatry, and other such things condemned in the Scriptures.—Exodus 20:3-5, 13-17; Leviticus 17:10; 20:13; Psalm 15:1-5; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11.

Hope for the Future

Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that the present system of things, with its cycle of birth, life, and death, is not all there is. We have complete confidence in a future life, including a resurrection from the dead under God’s Kingdom. We believe, as the Bible teaches, that when a person dies, his existence really ceases. (Psalm 146:3, 4; Ecclesiastes 9:5; Ezekiel 18:4) Therefore, the Bible does not teach the concept of an immortal soul or of reincarnation. Rather, future life for the dead is based on God’s remembrance of them in a resurrection.—Isaiah 25:8; Daniel 12:1, 2, 13.

However, Jehovah’s Witnesses are convinced that many now living will survive when God’s Kingdom brings an end to all present governments. Then, just as Noah and his family survived the Flood, these survivors will live on to enjoy life on a cleansed earth. (Isaiah 11:1-9; 65:17; Matthew 24:36-39) In order to survive the end of the world, one must meet Jehovah’s requirements, for the Bible says: “The upright are the ones that will reside in the earth, and the blameless are the ones that will be left over in it.”—Proverbs 2:20-22; Psalm 37:9-11, 29.

Obviously, it is not possible here to cover all the beliefs of Jehovah’s Witnesses, but we invite you to obtain further information from Jehovah’s Witnesses in your neighborhood.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Bible quotations are from the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures.

Answer 2

AS FOR THE UNINFORMED WHO CALL JWs A CULT:

Anyone who knows anything about Jehovah's Witnesses and what the accurate definition of a cult really is knows that JWs are definitely NOT A CULT! See: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/JWquestions-and_answers/message/828



AS FOR JWs' TAKE ON WHO GO TO HEAVEN AND WHY:

The Bible states that only a limited number of faithful Christians...specifically, 144,000 of them...are bought from the earth to live in heaven. (Revelation 14:1, 3; 20:4-6) Compared with the billions on earth, the 144,000 truly are a "little flock." (Luke 12:32)

But what about those who are not of the 144,000? By the provision of the ransom sacrifice of Jesus Christ, this sacrifice was not just for the sins of the 144,000 only, "but also for the whole world's." (1 John 2:2) So, all who exercise faith in Jesus have the prospect of eternal life. (John 3:16) Those asleep in the grave but who are in God's memory will be resurrected, not to heaven, but to life on a cleansed EARTH. (Ecclesiastes 9:5; John 11:11-13, 25; Acts 24:15)

When God's Kingdom will be established on the earth in the future, then God's original purpose for the earth and humankind will be fulfilled.—Genesis 1:27, 28.

http://www.watchtower.org/library/w/2000/10/1/article_02.htm

Addition:

AS FOR THE HOLY SPIRIT BEING A FORCE INSTEAD OF A PERSON:

Various very authoritative sources OTHER THAN JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES acknowledge that the Bible does NOT support the idea that the holy spirit is the third person of a Trinity. For example:

The Catholic Encyclopedia: "Nowhere in the Old Testament do we find any clear indication of a Third Person."

Catholic theologian Fortman: "The Jews never regarded the spirit as a person; nor is there any solid evidence that any Old Testament writer held this view. . . . The Holy Spirit is usually presented in the Synoptics [Gospels] and in Acts as a DIVINE FORCE or POWER."

The New Catholic Encyclopedia: "The O[ld] T[estament] clearly does not envisage God's spirit as a person . . . God's spirit is simply God's POWER. If it is sometimes represented as being distinct from God, it is because the breath of Yahweh acts exteriorly." It also says: "The majority of N[ew] T[estament] texts reveal God's spirit as someTHING, not someone; this is especially seen in the parallelism between the spirit and the power of God."

A Catholic Dictionary: "On the whole, the New Testament, like the Old, speaks of the spirit as a divine ENRGY or POWER."

http://www.watchtower.org/library/ti/index.htm
(On the left-hand sidebar, click on the chapter: "The Holy Spirit-God's Active Force.")


The Bible calls the holy spirit an "it":
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/JWquestions_and_answers_archives/message/81

The Bible says that the holy spirit was LITERALLY poured out into portions:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/JWquestions_and_answers_archives/message/80

THE BIBLE AS A WHOLE SHOWS THAT JESUS IS NOT GOD. THERE ARE ONLY SEVERAL MISINTERPRETED SCRIPTURES THAT TRINITARIANS TRY TO USE TO MAKE IT LOOK THE CONTRARY:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/JWquestions_and_answers_archives/message/149

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/JWquestions-and_answers/message/790

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/JWquestions_and_answers_archives/message/151

JESUS IS NOT GOD (1 Cor. 11:3):

http://www.watchtower.org/e/20050422/article_02.htm

http://www.watchtower.org/library/ti/index.htm

Answer 3

I am an ex-JW. . . so far everyone here is not, so they have no idea what they are talking about. There are so many beliefs to hit on, but to hit the high points, Jehovah is God. He created everything. . . his only first hand creation was Jesus. After that Jesus was used to create everything and every one else. Jehovah and Jesus reside in heaven along with the millions of angels. Only 144,000 from earth go to heaven, and the rest of righteous humans will live on earth forever in paradise. There is no hell, fiery hell, they believe that hell is just the common grave of man. Faith and works and obedience is the key to salvation, they do not believe once saved all ways saved. They do not celebrate any of the holidays, because they are not in the Bible, and most are pagan in origin. There is so much more to explain, your welcome to e-mail me, and I can give you more specifics on your questions.

Answer 4

WHAT BELIEFS OF JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES SET THEM APART AS DIFFERENT FROM OTHER RELIGIONS?

(1) Bible: Jehovah's Witnesses believe that the ENTIRE Bible is the inspired Word of God, and instead of adhering to a creed based on human tradition, they hold to the Bible as the standard for ALL their beliefs. (2 Tim. 3:16)
http://www.watchtower.org/e/200601b/article_01.htm


(2) God: They worship Jehovah as the only true God and freely speak to others about him and his loving purposes toward mankind. Anyone who publicly witnesses about Jehovah is usually identified as belonging to the one group-"Jehovah's Witnesses." (John 17:3; Isa. 43:10)
http://www.watchtower.org/e/20020515/article_02.htm

(3) Jesus Christ: They believe, NOT that Jesus Christ is a part of a Trinity, but that, as the Bible says, he is the Son of God, the first of God's creations; that he had a prehuman existence and that his life was transferred from heaven to the womb of a virgin, Mary; that his perfect human life laid down in sacrifice makes possible salvation to eternal life for those who exercise faith. (Col. 1:15,16; Rev. 3:14)
http://www.watchtower.org/e/20050915/article_02.htm

(4) God's Kingdom: They believe that God's Kingdom is the only hope for mankind; that it is a real government; that it will soon destroy the present wicked system of things, including all human governments, and that it will produce a new system in which righteousness will prevail. (Dan. 2:44)
http://www.watchtower.org/e/20060715/article_01.htm

(The above list breifly states just SOME outstanding beliefs of Jehovah's Witnesses but by no means all the points on which their beliefs are different from those of other groups.) For MUCH more, see: http://www.watchtower.org/library/jt/index.htm

ALSO:
http://www.watchtower.org/e/archives/index.htm

http://www.watchtower.org/

Answer 5

Jehovah's Witnesses are Christians who understand the Scriptures to teach that God's Kingdom by Christ Jesus is a real government which will soon replace all earthly governments.
(Daniel 2:44) God of heaven will set up a kingdom... It will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, and it itself will stand to times indefinite

That Kingdom will rule over the vast majority of mankind, most of whom will have been raised from the dead after Armageddon.
(John 11:23,24) Jesus said to her: “Your brother will rise.” Martha said to him: “I know he will rise in the resurrection on the last day.”
(Acts 24:15) There is going to be a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous.

Until that resurrection, there is no suffering in "hell", or the grave. Sometime after the resurrection, death and "hell" will themselves be destroyed.
(Ecclesiastes 9:5) For the living are conscious that they will die; but as for the dead, they are conscious of nothing at all
(Ecclesiastes 9:10) there is no work nor devising nor knowledge nor wisdom in Sheol ["hell"]
(Revelation 20:14) And death and Hades ["hell"] were hurled into the lake of fire

While a limitted number of humans will be resurrected to heaven to share in ruling over mankind, the vast majority (literally more than 99.9%) of Jehovah's Witnesses expect an EARTHLY hope, the same hope given to Adam and Eve.
(Genesis 1:28) God blessed them and God said to them: “Be fruitful and become many and fill THE EARTH and subdue it [caps added]
(Genesis 2:17) You must not eat from it, for in the day you eat from it you will positively die [so never eating from that tree means never dying]

Interestingly, the Scriptures are full of references to this earthly hope.
(Psalms 37:11) 'the meek will possess the earth'
(Proverbs 2:21) 'upright will reside in the earth'
(Isaiah 45:18) 'God formed the earth to be inhabited'
(Matthew 5:5) 'the mild will inherit the earth'
(Revelation 21:3) The tent of God is with mankind

Learn more:
http://watchtower.org/e/lmn/index.htm?article=article_10.htm
http://watchtower.org/e/rq/index.htm?article=article_06.htm
http://jw-media.org/beliefs/trueworship.htm
http://watchtower.org/e/jt/
http://watchtower.org/e/dg/index.htm?article=article_11.htm

Answer 6

Jehovah's witnesses believe that the entire bible is the word of God, 2Tim 3:15, 16 so the bible is used to entire bible is used to understand and preach God's message.

God's kingdom ruled by Jesus Christ is the main theme of the entire bible and the kingdom will vindicate God's right to rule mankind and reverse the effects of Adam's rebellions - sin, sickness, and death.

The kingdom will lead to the creation of a new world without any other governments, political boundaries, wars. It will unite all races of mankind in peace.

Because of Jesus' ransom sacrifice, it pays back the perfect human life adam threw away, so putting faith in Jesus sacrifice along with the TRUE doing of God's will give us the hope of living forever in this new world. We also MUST pray to God THROUGH Jesus name to show proper respect and reverence for his sacrifice.

That being said, we have to ask God for his holy spirit and cultivate a relationship with him. This will make us more like him Gal 5:22, 23, so we must strictly avoid those in Gal 5:19-21. Then we'll become the people God wants to live in the new world, who won't harm their fellow man, but love them and giving all glory to God for having given us life and all we have and will have.

Answer 7

I agree. Please go to www.watchtower.org for the answer to all your questions. Or if you really want a few quick answers: Ask the next Witness you meant for a tract entitled, coincidentally enough, "What do Jehovah's Witnesses Believe?"

But, I'd like to respond to the answerer who said we believe that good works get us into heaven. The vast, VAST majority of us believe we will not be going to heaven at all.

Answer 8

Pretty much what 'Abdijah' said.
We are not a cult, do not worship Abraham over God.
These people will give you false information.
Next time we come to your door, just ask us!
We will answer your questions USING THE BIBLE!! EVEN YOUR BIBLE IF YOU PREFER IT!!
So yeah, we pretty much believe what the Bible says.
Goodbye!

Answer 9

See the links below for accurate information. Also you can email me for answers to specific questions.

Answer 10

What do Jehovah’s Witnesses believe? Close scrutiny of their doctrinal position on such subjects as the Deity of Jesus, Salvation, the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, the Atonement, etc., shows beyond a doubt that they do not hold to orthodox Christian positions on these subjects. Jehovah’s Witnesses believe Jesus is Michael the archangel, the highest created being. This contradicts many Scriptures which clearly declare Jesus to be God (John 1:1,14; 8:58; 10:30). Jehovah’s Witnesses believe salvation is obtained by a combination of faith, good works, and obedience. This contradicts countless Scriptures which declare salvation to be received by faith (John 3:16; Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5). Jehovah’s Witnesses reject the Trinity, believing Jesus to be a created being and the Holy Spirit to essentially be the power of God. Jehovah’s Witnesses hold to a ransom theory of the atonement, in which Jesus' death paid only for what mankind lost when Adam sinned - namely, the right to perfect life on earth. Thus, they believe in a faith + works arrangement, where sin and death are freely atoned for by Christ, but physical perfection is attained through personal effort, coupled with faith in Christ.